Dark & Stormy
by GeminiMercedes
Summary: When an injured hedgehog lands on Sonic's doorstep, he'll have to question friends, authorities, and even his sense of justice. SonicXShadow (SONADOW), SilverXBlaze (SILVASE). After a long hiatus, this story is back in action. R&R!
1. Slowdown to Showdown

**D&amp;S Chapter 1: Slowdown to Showdown **

"You sure you'll be able to get home safe, hun?" Rouge asked as she set down the tray of shots glasses she had picked up from table 8.

The hedgehog she had been speaking to scoffed and turned away from her.

"I thought I told you not to call me that." He replied sharply. She rolled her eyes and began placing the shot glasses in the sink behind the bar. If it hadn't been such a slow night at Club Rouge, she might have walked away. But there were only a few customers tonight and she needed some entertainment.

"I'm working _kid_; I call everyone 'hun'"

"Well I'm neither." He said as he took another shot.

"That's your last one." She replied as she snatched the empty glass from his hand.

"Is that really how you treat a good friend, Rouge?" He said with a smirk.

"Which friend are you referring to?" She retorted with a smug grin plastered on her face.

"Whatever." He responded, rolling his eyes before heading for the club exit.

"You never answered my question." She stated, looking around at the five or six patrons in the bar.

"I'll be fine." He said with a wave, and she was happy to hear no trace of sarcasm or annoyance in his voice.

She turned back to the glasses she had to wash and heard the door open and close as she turned on the faucet.

"Crazy kid, these streets aren't as safe as they used to be." She muttered to herself.

"Hey sexy, can we get a table close to _you_?" She heard a deep voice drawling in front of her.

"Excuse-" She looked up to respond to the man who had spoken to her when she realized it was more than one man walking in.

"You heard me. I need a nice big table for the fellas and a couple rounds of shots." The man continued. He was a large, pale, and hairy man in a police uniform. His 'group' looked about the same.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead put on her best fake smile. Human police were the worst customers. They always came in slightly intoxicated and overly perverted. They were ignorant, started fights with other male customers, and stared at some of the younger women in the bar. To make it worse, most of them had wives and kids too.

"Sure, I'll be right over. Let me just-"She turned back to the glasses she now had to prepare in a rush when something cut her off. It was a large, hairy hand that had found its way around her neck. She looked up in shock. The same man who had been speaking to her was now nose-to-nose with her, one hand positioning him on the bar and other around her neck.

"Listen girly, take your sub-human self over to those bottles and pour us our damn drinks." He muttered angrily, his breath reeking of alcohol and other things Rouge really didn't want to smell.

She placed a hand on his to try and pull away but the man had an iron grip.

"Let me go, buddy or I'll have to call…" But she was at a loss, and her heart sunk further when she saw the laughter in the man's eyes.

"Who were you going to call again? Please, I'd love to hear it." He said with a smirk. She growled in disgust and tried again to pull away, pushing her foot against the bar for leverage.

"Not going to work girly, now you've got me irritated." The man suddenly muttered, the muscles around his eyes suddenly tightened. Rouge looked behind him to see his group looking everywhere but at the two of them.

Her eyes widened.

"Wait, sir…please." She hated to plead, but she was running out of options.

That was until a black blur flew past her eyes.

The man was thrown across the room before he could realize who had shown up. He crashed into a Marilyn Monroe poster and hit the floor in a slow slump. The other police officers suddenly looked alert and angry.

"S-shadow! What are you doing?" Rouge asked in surprise, grasping at the space where a hand had just been around her neck.

"Didn't know the business was so bad you had to let _these_ kinds of scum in." The black hedgehog said as he glared at the fallen officer.

"Shadow you have to leave, they're _police officers_!" Rouge hissed, watching as the other officers turned to Shadow and began advancing on the hedgehog menacingly.

"Who do you think you're calling scum you sub-human reject?" One of the officers with a long black moustache said, pulling out his baton as he spoke.

"For you to hit me with that, you'll have to catch me." Shadow scoffed, crossing his arms.

Rouge didn't like where this was going, but the shock from her recent encounter left her silent.

"This place is a bit small for a brawl; I'll meet you fools outside if you can catch me." Shadow taunted, winking before disappearing out of the club, the men slowly in tow.

Rouge shivered, worry currently taking over her emotions. But what was she to do? She didn't know anyone in the city that would help her and she couldn't call the police. She turned back to the dishes to avoid the sympathetic looks she was getting from the other patrons.

/

It was a boring night for Sonic. The blue hedgehog was watching television with his roommate Tails. The yellow fox was currently yawning and rubbing his eyes and Sonic was trying to ignore the urge to rub his own.

"What's wrong Sonic, you look irritated?" Tails asked with a raised eyebrow, ignoring the cartoon they were watching.

"I'm fine Tails, just bored. I'm surprised they haven't called me in tonight. Friday nights are usually crazy in _this_ city." He replied, scratching at the blue uniform he had a habit of wearing, even on off nights.

"It is odd, now that you mention it. But as an officer you rarely get nights off so I'm not complaining." Tails admitted, changing the channel to a news broadcast. The channel changed in a flash of blue and the two roommates watched various broadcasters talk about the weather and the current elections.

"…And now turning to our main news reporter, Amy Rose!" The off-screen announcer declared. The camera whizzed to a pink hedgehog sitting cross legged on a white couch with a clipboard in her hand.

"Hello mobians! Hope you're having a great night! Here's a recap of our ongoing stories…" She continued on, referencing images and videos that popped up on the screen beside her.

"Can we turn it back?" Sonic groaned.

"She is so in love with you it's not even funny." Tails teased, punching Sonic lightly in the shoulder.

"Yeah, and she's not even my type."

"Well what _is_ your type, Sonic? I don't think I've ever heard you explain your ideal girl." Tails asked, raising an eyebrow at his blue hedgehog friend.

Sonic grimaced and turned away from the fox's unflinching stare. It was innocent enough, but he didn't feel like sharing his deepest secrets on a relaxing Friday night.

"I'm not even sure, buddy. I'm so busy these days." It wasn't really a lie.

"So why don't you go out with Amy, she seems nice enough. A bit crazy I'll admit, but it would probably get your mind off work." Tails said with a smile.

"I already told you she's not my-" Sonic started before hearing a large thump at the door.

The hedgehog and fox turned to each other and didn't move. They didn't have friends that would drop by this late and their studio apartment wasn't in the greatest sector of town.

"S-sonic…"

"I got it, don't worry." Sonic said as he got up. His gun wasn't with him, so his baton would have to do.

He grabbed the black shiny stick from the umbrella stand and tiptoed to the wooden door. He closed one eye as he looked through the peephole in the door.

No one was there.

"What the hell?" The blue hedgehog whispered. He could hear Tails shift deeper into the couch.

"Who's there?" The fox hissed.

"No one's there, actually." Sonic responded, shrugging as he turned back to walk to their living room.

He jumped almost half a foot when the same noise came from the door again. Staring at his roommate's wide eyes, he could tell the fox was holding back a scream.

"I got this, don't worry." He whispered reassuringly, turning back to the door.

This time he planned to open it.

He grasped the silver doorknob and twisted it slowly. He opened the door a slit, not even enough for the chain lock to stop him or any introducer to fully opening the door.

And at first he didn't see anything; it was a Friday night after all. But after his eyes adjusted he saw the red and black hedgehog passed out on the floor, covered in blood and cuts.

Sonic had wished for an interesting night, but he hadn't expected this.

/

_Surprise! I've been working on a lot of new stories and this is one of them! Still finishing up Interns, expect the finale next month. Hope my new and returning supporters enjoy this one! I promise it is going to be crazy. _

_-GeminiMercedes-_

**A/N UPDATE: I have decided to try and get this story back on track! If you haven't already read the Author's Note after chapter five, I'll just reiterate what it said here. I wrote the outline for it and an ending that I think will be satisfying for you guys. The only couple at this point is SonicXShadow which, if you've read this story before, is in its beginning stages. More couples will be added as the story goes on. I will also be adding chapter titles and updates to the earlier chapters before we get to all new chapters/content. I made this story in a soap opera fashion where you fade in and out between character arcs. It'll make more sense as it goes! I really hope you guys continue to R&amp;R, I had so many plans for this story so I hope I can see it through with you guys by my side! **

**-GEMINIMERCEDES-**


	2. Mystery and Adaptability

**D&amp;S Chapter 2: Mystery and Adaptability **

"Hi, Ms. Rose! I'm the new reporter." A silver hedgehog said with a smile, shaking the pink hedgehog's hand enthusiastically.

"Nice to meet you, when are you starting?" Amy asked dryly, handing her clipboard full of stories to her assistant so hair and makeup could finish her touch-ups.

"Well today's my first day. I'm Silver by the way." Silver said with a smile.

Amy gave him a small smile, turning back to her mirror to inspect the work hair and makeup was doing.

"More curls Sofia; I'm going for a bouncy summer look today." She said curtly, turning to her cell phone as she spoke.

"Oh course Ms. Rose!" The hair stylist replied, grabbing a bigger curling rod to finish the job.

"Mr. Silver; if we are going to be working together, there are some rules you have to abide by." She said with a sickeningly sweet smile. Silver smile didn't falter, and possibly got bigger.

"I understand Ms. Rose, what do you need me to do?" He said with a nod.

"Well you can start by dressing a little better. A suit and tie never killed a man. Also, you could gel your spikes a bit better. Edgy but sexy, girls like a refined man…sometimes." She explained.

Silver nodded, and Amy could tell he was mentally taking note of what she was saying. She was so focused on schooling him that she missed her hair stylist rolling her eyes at her client's attempt to insult the new employee.

"Make sure you speak up, smile, and introduce me well." She continued, turning back to the mirror to inspect her curls.

"Oh and one more thing…" She started as she got up to leave the dressing room.

"Stay out of my way if you know what's good for you." She said with a smirk, turning on her heel to head to the meeting room.

Silver stood silent as she walked away.

"Ignore her; she's in one of those moods." The stylist said, patting the hedgehog on the shoulder. The hedgehog flinched in response and turned to the owner of the hand.

"What do you mean?" Silver asked, snapping out of his trance.

"You know that hero police officer, Sonic the Hedgehog? She asked him out the other day and he rejected her. Now we all have to feel it. I swear this is the third time this month." The stylist growled, turning back to remove the pink fur from her styling tools.

"Wow, guess I'll have to get used to that." He remarked, turning to the mirror to stare at his own reflection.

"You look fine kid, I can help you gel your quills down if you want though." Sofia said with a smile.

Silver returned the smile and sat down in the chair Amy had been previously occupying.

"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt." He said with a shrug.

"Well at least not for you…" The stylist muttered as she began to pick through his messy quills with her most durable gloves.

/

He had remembered racing far out of their grasp. It was an exhilarating experience, to say the least. The police men were sluggish, so he raced around them for the fun of it. They seemed to frustrate quicker whenever he came in reach of a fist and then sped out of reach just in time.

The fun ended when he had felt something hit his arm. His mind went reeling knowing it would have been close to impossible for someone to get a shot on him while he was running. He grabbed the object that had logged itself in his arm and ripped it out. He grunted in pain, looking down at a syringe with a needle that hooked at the end.

_What the hell is this? _He had asked himself, grimacing in pain. His vision started to blur, and slowly but surely the officers surrounded him.

He tried to grab the chaos emerald he used to teleport but it was knocked out of his hand the second he tried. Everything seemed to go black after that.

For the second time in his life, Shadow the hedgehog experienced fear.

/

"Who is _that_?!" Sonic almost jumped as he heard his roommate, Tails, peeking under his arm to see outside their apartment door.

"Geez Tails, don't scare me like that." He muttered, waiting on his heart to stop pounding out of his chest.

"Sorry, Sonic…" Tails replied, eyes never leaving the body lying outside their door.

"Its okay, just go grab some dark towels and place them all over the floor in the living room." Sonic said as he unlocked the chain on the door to open it fully.

"Are you sure?" Tails asked quickly, the fear reappearing in his eyes. Sonic gave him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, I've done this before, don't worry."

Tails disappeared into the apartment while Sonic stepped outside to pick up the hedgehog. He was heavy and smelled of alcohol and blood. Smells Sonic was too familiar with due of his occupation.

"Damn, you're heavy." He muttered, gently lifting the hedgehog in case he had suffered internal damage.

One part of Sonic told him to call his buddies at the station, or better yet an ambulance. Another told him to keep it to himself. The two forces started a mental battle and it almost stopped him from bringing the wounded hedgehog into his home.

But in the end, the hedgehog was placed on his back in the middle of the living room. Tails peered over him with a first aid kit on his lap.

"Tails I can handle this." Sonic said with a grim smile, grabbing bandages, rubbing alcohol, and gauze from the kit.

Tails rolled his eyes.

"I can help Sonic, who do you think does all of this when you get back from a shoot out or an on the run criminal?" The fox replied. He quickly took the alcohol from Sonic and began pouring it on the cotton swabs he had grabbed from the bathroom.

Sonic sighed, admitting defeat.

"Are you sure? This might be nastier than those times with me."

"I'm sure, how about you start on his upper torso and I'll handle his legs."

Sonic's eyes widened hearing his usually docile friend take charge and command. But he said nothing and instead focussed on the area he had been told to handle.

"His legs are covered in blood…" Tails muttered. "And gravel, as if someone was dragging him."

Sonic wanted to tell Tails not to look at the hedgehog like an autopsy, but he found himself noticing details as well.

"He has a bite mark on his shoulder too. Geez, this guy didn't have a great night." The blue hedgehog said to himself.

"I'm going to wrap his legs in gauze and then change it in the morning. For the most part it's just scratches that should clot quickly. How's the rest of him?" Tails asked, running to the kitchen to grab a pair of scissors to cut the gauze.

"It's pretty bad around the arms, chest and shoulder area." Sonic replied with a grimace. The hedgehog's upper body was a mess of bruises, cuts and bite marks. Sonic had no idea what or who had attacked him and almost didn't want to find out.

"What if he has damage we can't see?" Tails asked as he returned with the scissors. Sonic shook his head.

"I really hope he doesn't but we can't rule it out." The blue hedgehog admitted, placing a finger to his lip.

"You know what; we'll take him to someone I know tomorrow morning. I'll take the day off to make sure he's gets there and back safely." Sonic finished with a smile.

"'Back' to where, exactly?" Tails asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was thinking he should stay here till he's better, if that's okay with you. I don't know what it is, but something's bothering me about this whole situation." Sonic explained with a nervous smile. Tails stared at him for a second before nodding.

"I think that's a good idea if you feel that way. I feel like I'm part of a crime scene investigation team or something." The fox said with a laugh. Sonic smiled back and shook his head.

"Let's not get carried away now…" he responded before going back to cleaning up the black and red hedgehog.

"You know what…" Tails started, looking up at the television that he had turned off following the arrival of the hedgehog.

"What?" Sonic asked without looking up from the bandage he was wrapping around the hedgehog's arm.

"Did you hear anything about this on the news? I don't remember them saying anything about a fight, or brawl of _any_ sort." Tails asked; his face full of thought.

Sonic looked up and stared at the fox.

_Had Amy even mentioned anything about a victim or a fight?_ He would have remembered that. He should have been called in to deal with whatever had transpired if it had been this serious.

"I think you're right, I don't remember hearing anything either." He admitted, turning back to the bandage. But he stopped himself and stared at the hedgehog as a whole. There had been no news whatsoever on the young male now lying on his living room floor.

"They have to report things like that, don't they? I mean the public has to know about these kinds of things." Tails asked, poking his roommate when he realized he was thinking.

"They don't _have_ to, but they should." Sonic responded tonelessly.

"Sonic, are you alright?" Tails asked, noticing his friend's change in demeanour.

"Could you grab him a blanket from our closet? After that get some sleep Tails, I'll see what I can find out tomorrow." Sonic said as he got up and headed to his room.

"O-okay…" Tails responded, getting up to grab a blanket for the hedgehog.

_I just wanted to say thank you to all the new follows/favs for this story. I hope you continue to enjoy Dark &amp; Stormy. Please review! I really appreciate feedback on my stories and they definitely help me develop and improve my writing. New chapters in the coming weeks!_

_-GeminiMercedes-_

**A/N UPDATE: The plot thickens! Enjoy! If you didn't before, please R&amp;R! It makes my world to get the email notifications! I didn't establish ages before since not all the characters have been introduced but Sonic is twenty-two, Tails is eighteen. Rouge is twenty-seven, Silver is twenty-four, and Amy is twenty-one. Just for context! Ignore if you don't really care, it won't change anything in relation to how this story is going to go. **

**-GEMINIMERCEDES- **


	3. Flares and Stares

**D&amp;S Chapter 3: Flares and Stares **

Shadow woke up with a terrible migraine. He was in blinding pain and it didn't help that the sunshine was ejecting his desire to see anything.

_Where was he? Why was he in pain? _The questions for which he had no answers hurt him more than the pain his body was feeling.

He looked down to see his arms and legs covered in bandages that had turned a faint red from what he assumed was blood.

"What the hell happened to me?" He asked softly.

He looked around to see he was in a room with two couches, a coffee table that had been moved to the side, and a small stand that held up a large flat screen television.

"Okay, where am I?" He growled, immediately on guard as his instincts kicked in.

He looked around for a clock but when he didn't see one in the immediate vicinity he settled for turning on the television.

He saw the black remote at his feet, beside a blanket that was tangled around his legs.

_A blanket?_

Now he was _really_ confused.

Ignoring the new questions that had begun to cloud his mind, he grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

In a flash of blue he was staring at the most popular news channel in the city. It made him roll his eyes knowing it was the one that featured the annoying pink reporter, Amy something.

It was 8:45 AM and the weather was cloudy with the sun expected to show in the afternoon. Shadow shook his head and was tempted to throw the remote into the television.

This told him absolutely nothing about what happened to him last night, since he still couldn't remember.

"Damnit it all…" He muttered, placing the remote back down on the floor. He almost jumped as he heard a small voice from behind him.

"Um, hello…" He turned to see a yellow fox peaking out from behind a door that lead out of the room he was in.

Shadow would have said something if the room hadn't decided to start spinning and turn black.

/

"He woke up!"

"He _what_?" Sonic blurted out groggily, reaching for his red hoodie. It was a chilly morning.

"Don't worry, he passed out again." Tails said with a small smile as he peeked into Sonic's bedroom.

Sonic groaned.

"Okay I'm up, I'll be out in a minute." He said as he looked around for an acceptable pair of pants.

"I was thinking we should try to wake him up…" Tails said with a grimace. Sonic turned away from his search to look at the fox incredulously.

"Why do you think we should do that?" The blue hedgehog asked with a look of confusion on his face.

"Well if you take him to the hospital and he gets some sort of pain reliever, he'd have to have eaten before hand, right?"

"You're right. Okay, you go make breakfast and I'll see if I can _revive_ him." Sonic said with a smirk.

"Okay, good luck Sonic!" Tails said with a smile as he ran off to the kitchen.

Sonic watched the fox's figure disappear before he picked up some blue gym shorts and headed towards the living room.

He stared at the hedgehog's body, which didn't look like it had moved except for the crumpled up blanket at his feet.

Sonic walked over slowly, placing a hand over the hedgehog's closed eyes to see if he was really unconscious.

"How am I gonna wake him up?" Sonic muttered, pulling his hand back.

"Hey Tails," Sonic yelled, turning his head towards the kitchen. "Did he say anything when he woke up?"

"He tried to, I think! But then he fell back on the floor." Tails yelled back. Sonic could vaguely hear a blender and decided to leave the fox to what he was doing.

"Thanks!" He yelled back, pondering his next move before turning around.

"Could you do me a favour, and quiet down, please?"

Sonic almost jumped when he heard the voice. He turned to see the dark hedgehog lift himself a little and rub his head.

"What did you say Sonic? I didn't catch that." Tails said as he came out of the kitchen, apron on and towel in hand. He followed Sonic's stare and gasped.

"Uh, Good morning…" Tails muttered.

Sonic was still at a loss for words when the hedgehog turned to him and glared.

"Did _you_ do this to me?" It growled.

/

"I did what you asked me to." She said dryly through the phone. She heard the voice on the other end chuckle. It was a distorted chuckle, but by now she was used to him using the tool she had given him to cover his voice.

"May I ask what I did to deserve this attitude?" The voice replied.

She rolled her eyes.

"Nothing, I'm just busy that's all."

"Hopefully busy doing the things I've asked you to do." The voice replied angrily. It forced her to calm down. Even with the distortion, she knew_ that_ tone.

"Sorry, its been a long day. And of course I'm still working on our joint ventures."

"Perfect, I'll see you tonight at nine." The voice said with the same chuckle. Her eyes widened.

"You'll what?" But the line had already gone dead.

The woman looked around her small apartment and held back a scream.

"He really thinks he_ owns _me." She said with disgust, flinging her phone across the room. It fell into her futon and bounced back on the floor.

She turned around and headed to the door leading to the elevator.

"Sure I'll go see him…after I get some things finished." She said with a tone of finality to no one in particular. She stepped out into the hallway and headed for the elevator.

Had she taken her phone, she would have noticed the new message she had gotten only a minute after her phone call ended.

**NEW MESSAGE:**

**UNKNOWN NUMBER**

_I do own you._

_/_

_Enjoy! Thanks to everyone for the reviews! They are greatly appreciated and really push me to make better chapters. The plot thickens and more characters will be introduced in the next chapter! Stay tuned! As always R&amp;R. _

_-GeminiMercedes-_

**A/N UPDATE: Things are amidst! I just made a couple of changes to the conversations as I can be a bit wordy at times. I know someone asked in a review if we are supposed to know who's on the phone at the end. NOPE! I always introduce the characters that are speaking so if I don't, you can assume you're supposed to be out of the loop. Some of you may have guessed who it is though...stay tuned! Hopefully you guys are still enjoying this! R&amp;R! **

**-GEMINIMERCEDES- **


	4. Scanning the Situation

**D&amp;S Chapter 4: Scanning the Situation**

"Did _you_ do this to me?" It growled. Or rather, _he_ growled. Sonic held his stance. He knew he would have to protect Tails if this hedgehog decided to get violent. He had had cases like this before, but was really hoping this wouldn't be one of them.

"Of course not, my roommate and I found you at our door and have been trying to fix you up…which wasn't easy, by the way." Sonic said matter-of-factly.

The hedgehog finally blinked and turned to look at his bandages.

"You…helped me?" He muttered, poking at the bandages on his arms. Sonic winced.

"You might not want to do that. Those were tricky to place and the wounds…" He didn't want to finish, or have the hedgehog freak out while imagining what the bandages were hiding.

"I…so you really helped me?" The hedgehog asked again, looking back up at Sonic. His stare was blank but there was a sense of urgency in his tone.

Sonic nodded.

"Like I told you, it wasn't easy but we got you cleaned up. I _did_ want you to see a doctor though. I don't know if you have any internal injuries." Sonic explained honestly.

The hedgehog nodded in response but said nothing more, leaving an uncomfortable air to settle in the room.

"Well…the pancakes are almost done." Tails said with a smile, causing the two hedgehogs to turn to him.

Noticing their stares, the fox blushed with embarrassment and ran back into the kitchen.

"His pancakes are the best, trust me on that." Sonic said with a laugh, turning back to the hedgehog in front of him.

The hedgehog's blank stare never left, but he proceeded to get up when Sonic did.

"I'm Sonic, by the way!" Sonic said with a smile. The black hedgehog simply nodded.

"Shadow."

"Huh?"

"My name, it's Shadow. Shadow the hedgehog." The hedgehog said, crossing his arms.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Shadow. I'll introduce you to Tails in a sec. He's shy but he's a nice guy." Sonic said as he brought Shadow into the kitchen.

The hedgehog followed with no reply.

/

The secretary of the city's police HQ was having a boring day. Blaze the Cat couldn't help but sigh at the overwhelming pile of reports she would have to stamp and file before the week was done. It didn't help that the only one she considered a friend there was Sonic, who hadn't been in for the last couple of days.

Speaking of which, why hadn't the hedgehog reported in? A call would have sufficed. Even though Sonic refused to take on a higher ranking position, his importance to HQ and the city made him a top priority regardless of his rank.

She would have to call him; which she didn't mind considering she would have done _anything_ to dodge paperwork at that moment.

Within a few seconds of typing, she had pulled his number from their registry. Grabbing her work phone, she dialled the number and waited.

It rang twice before Sonic picked it up.

"Uh, Hi?" She would have recognized the hedgehog's voice anywhere, but the questioning tone in his voice told her something was up.

"Hello Sonic the Hedgehog, this is Blaze from the police department." She said quickly. They were friends, but protocol forced her to give him the script introduction.

Not that her personal introduction would have been _that_ far off the grid.

"Oh, hey Blaze! How can I help you?" He responded. Blaze raised an eyebrow. Why was he acting so suspicious?

"You haven't touched base with HQ in the last couple of days. You know how the higher ups are, Sonic." She responded flatly.

"Oh right! I was going to come in today, but something came up…" He trailed off, and Blaze resisted the urge to roll her eyes and sigh. She really didn't want to get in the hedgehog's business but now she was undeniably interested and his excuse would not leave a good report for her to give to her commissioner.

"Sonic, if you have a viable reason for your absence you'll have to take that up with your superiors. You don't get to choose not to call in." She said calmly.

She heard him sigh on the other end.

"It's something…out of the ordinary Blaze. Are you on the office phone?" He asked, whispering towards the end. Blaze's eyes widened. This was getting more confusing and she had a sinking feeling she would have to get more involved than she wanted to.

"Yes I am, Sonic."

"I need your help with something, but I'll need you to come to my place. You have it on the registry right? My address I mean." He said quickly, causing Blaze to automatically turn back to her monitor.

"I'll come during my lunch break." She said softly, looking around to make sure no one was listening in.

"Thanks, see you soon." Sonic said before the line went blank.

Blaze stared at the phone with a raised eyebrow before shaking her head and turning to the clock. She had another hour before her lunch break, but she knew she wouldn't get a lot of work done now. This situation with Sonic was too confusing and intriguing to focus her attention elsewhere.

She would just have to see what he was talking about.

/

"Who was that?" Tails asked as he took Shadow and Sonic's plates to the sink to be washed.

Sonic put down the receiver and turned to the blonde fox.

"It was Blaze. She's a cat I work with. She'll be coming over in a bit."

"Oh that's cool. I don't get to meet a lot of your work friends." Tails admitted, turning back to the sink to clean the dishes.

"That's because I don't _have_ a lot of work friends…" Sonic muttered as he went back to sit at the table.

Noticing Shadow's staring, Sonic smiled and winked.

"Don't worry, she's trustworthy. She works with a lot of private information regarding things in the city daily. You can't get that job without criminal and background checks, not to mention a handful of examinations…I guess the pay is worth it." He rambled, trying to reassure Shadow.

Shadow merely nodded and turned back to the window beside the table they were sitting at. He failed to notice Sonic was still staring at him with a sad smile.

The blue hedgehog had failed to mention that Blaze was coming to examine Shadow's injuries. Blaze had a medical background from training she had taken with police HQ. He knew she would be able to give an accurate analysis of Shadow's condition as well as help Sonic figure out what they should do to help the hedgehog recover.

"What do you do again?" The black hedgehog muttered loud enough for Sonic to hear.

"Wha-?" Sonic fumbled, still lost in thought.

"What is your profession?" Shadow asked again, turning back to stare at Sonic blankly.

Sonic, for some reason, was at a loss for words. Before he could recover, Tails had already beat him to the punch.

"Sonic's the best police officer in the city, he's practically a celebrity!" The fox said with pure joy.

Sonic turned back to Shadow after staring at Tails and gave him a sheepish grin.

"He's exaggerating, but yes I'm a cop." He admitted. He had no idea why this was so embarrassing to admit when even _he_ knew it was public fodder. Sonic would never admit it, but he did know of his fame and popularity in the city. It was something he tried to ignore, but it was something he could never really tune out.

Shadow opened his mouth to speak when suddenly he was hunched over, holding his head and moaning.

"S-shadow? Are you okay? Where the hell is Blaze…"

"Sonic, you get him comfortable and I'll get him some water and painkillers." Tails shouted as he dropped the dishes in the sink and turned to one of the many kitchen cabinets.

Sonic threw an arm around Shadow and stared at the hedgehog. His eyes were shut tight and he was wincing as if in excruciating pain.

"We'll get you help, I promise." Sonic muttered, turning back to look at the clock on the wall.

/

Blaze smiled at the clock.

_12:10._

She cleared her desk and grabbed her handbag. She planned to go straight to Sonic's and then maybe grab lunch.

She felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket and pulled it out to see who it was.

The number was private, but the message seemed like it came from a familiar person.

**NEW MESSAGE:**

**UNKNOWN NUMBER**

_Make sure you bring your scanner._

"Why would I bring my scanner, Sonic?" She asked aloud. She didn't know for sure if it was Sonic, but she really didn't have any other leads to where the message was coming from.

Scanners were high-tech x-rays that could be carried around in a small bag or box. Blaze had one because of her medical training, but many officers and security personnel carried scanners as well. You could easily scan over a body and figure out if it had any diseases or internal trauma. It was a secret weapon used by upper level officers, but Sonic had always known about it as he had worked with officers who carried them.

If Sonic needed the scanner, the situation had to be worse than she'd thought. She trusted him though, so it was only a moment's hesitation before she picked it up from under her desk and placed it in her bag.

/

_Sorry this took so long! I've been so busy with other creative projects, but I always try to make time for this one. Enjoy! Please R&amp;R!_

_-GeminiMercedes-_

**A/N UPDATE: As some of you may know, Blaze is one of my favourite characters in the Sonic franchise (which I do not only in any way, shape or form!). I always try to incorporate her into my stories and with the new sonic games excluding her and Silver, I feel like I have to make up for it here. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Who is sending these mysterious text messages? Could it be more than one person? Keep reading! **

**-GEMINIMERCEDES-**


	5. Poof, Poof, Begone!

**D&amp;S Chapter 5: Poof, Poof, Begone! **

"Thanks for coming!" Sonic said with a smile as he opened the door to see his co-worker. Blaze raised an eyebrow, but walked in when the hedgehog shifted to make room for her to pass by.

"See, it's kind of a _special_ situation. I need you to keep this one between us." Sonic said in a whisper, looking back and forth between Blaze and the kitchen they were walking into.

That was about all Blaze could take.

"What the hell are you-" But then she saw it and she understood. There in front of her was a black and red hedgehog lying on a group of chairs formed in a makeshift bed.

"He showed up on my doorstep the other day and we've been trying to help him recover." Sonic explained, walking over and placing his hand on Shadow's forehead. The black hedgehog was clearly unconscious.

Blaze was stunned. Of _all _the reasons Sonic could have invited her over, she had failed to think of this one. Nevertheless, she kept her composure as she walked over to the hedgehog and checked his vital signs. She could feel Sonic's eyes on her, but she chose to ignore it as she looked over the hedgehog in front of her.

Pulling out her scanner, she placed her finger on the imprint lock and turned to Sonic.

"I'm going to have to ask you to go into the other room. This isn't a long process, but it is a meticulous one. When I'm done, I'll call you back in." She explained.

Sonic blinked and looked like he wanted to reject her proposal. After a second though, he began to turn to walk out of the kitchen.

"If he wakes up, let me know. His social skills aren't that great." He said with a sad smile. Blaze simply nodded before turning back to Shadow.

/

"What do you mean you're not staying?!" Silver asked in shock as he watched Amy Rose apply blush to her already pink cheeks.

The two had just left a meeting with their execs and were given time to go back to hair and makeup before returning to air. They had stopped in the hallway when Amy had dropped the news that she would be absent for both the afternoon and evening news broadcasts.

"I told you, I have other places to be." Amy replied, bringing her compact closer to her face as she spoke.

"I understand that, but this is your job. Plus, Cream already called in sick so who's going to take over for you?"

Amy spun around on her heel and smiled evilly at the silver hedgehog.

"You, obviously." She said with a smirk as she walked past him.

Silver turned to her with wide eyes.

"Wait, the stories for the day? I do the _weather_, Amy. The stories are usually improvised and I would have to include my own opinions." He replied indignantly.

Amy stopped her walk and huffed.

"We were in the same meeting right? I'm in talks for a reality show on a hit network. It's great publicity for this channel as well. Everyone wants to see a success story, Silver. You'll have yours too. Maybe one day…"

Silver's eyes were still wide.

"…But until that day, you'll just have to fill in for me when I'm busy. Thanks, hun!" She finished as she walked down the long hallway to parking lot.

Silver said nothing as he headed to hair and makeup.

/

"He'll be okay." Blaze said with a smile as she left the kitchen and saw Sonic on his couch with his eyes closed. At the sound of her voice, the hedgehog immediately jumped up.

"But be quiet, he's sleeping." She added before he could say anything. Sonic nodded and peered into the kitchen.

"What's going on, Sonic? Who is he?" Blaze asked; her demeanour suddenly extremely serious. Sonic turned back and gave a grim smile.

"I'm trying to figure that out myself. I have no idea what happened to him." He admitted with a shrug.

"Do you suspect fowl play?" Blaze asked, crossing her arms.

"Potentially, but probably not from who you'd think." He looked away.

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked with wider eyes.

"Well-" But before Sonic could respond the doorbell rang.

Blaze and Sonic stared at each other before Sonic walked towards the door. Opening it slowly, his eyes widened at who was on the other side.

"Hi Sonic!" Amy Rose squealed as she stepped inside before he had the chance to speak.

"Hi Amy, this is kind of a bad time…could you come back later?" He asked as he closed the door and turned back to her.

"Why Sonic, I come all this way and that's what you have to say?" Amy said with a wave of her hand, completely dismissing his request.

"And who is this?" She suddenly spat, turning towards Blaze. Blaze rolled her eyes in response.

"_I_ was just leaving," Blaze replied, passing by Amy and giving Sonic a small smile.

"We'll talk later!" Sonic said with a wave of his hand, guilt heavy in his voice.

"Oh, don't be so sad, Sonic. I have super news for you!" Amy said with a laugh.

Sonic turned to her and raised an eyebrow. Good news from Amy was usually _not_ good.

"And what would that be?" He asked, crossing his arms. Amy spun in a circle before winking at him.

"Well you see, I've been offered a main cast role on a reality show! I had a meeting about it today but I just left from lunch with the producer of the show and he says they wouldn't do the show without me!" Amy squealed. Sonic could have sworn he saw money bags and stars in her eyes.

"The only thing is I need to have a partner on the show. All the other ladies have husbands or boyfriends." She said sweetly, her grin suddenly turning devious.

"Well have you found someone to go with?" Sonic said with a shrug, knowing where this conversation was going but choosing to play dumb.

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Well of course silly! I want _you_!" She lunged forward and grabbed his arm.

"It would be great publicity for the both of us! Just imagine…the two most popular people in media in the city, _dating_! We would be global, Sonic. Do you hear me, _global_." She reiterated.

Sonic didn't bother trying to wrap his mind around her request. He had more important things to deal with.

"I don't think so Amy. I'm sure you can find someone has a great reputation and a desire to be on TV. That's not me unless it has to be." He tried to explain, waiting for her grip on his arm to loosen.

"But Sonic…" She was beginning to pout. In turn, she loosened her grip and he took that as his chance. He threw his other arm around her waist and began leading her to the door.

"I'm honoured you would ask me Amy. Really, I am. But I'm super busy right now and need to focus. I'll talk to you later, okay?" He finished as he slowly lead her out the front door.

"But Sonic-" He had already closed the door before she could finish.

Sonic let out a sigh of relief and pushed his back against the door frame.

"That was harder than I thought it would be." He said with a sigh. His eyes suddenly widened as he remembered Shadow lying down in the kitchen and he quickly stood up and ran over.

"Sorry about that Sha-" He stopped when he reached the room. Shadow was gone, but the window in the kitchen was open and wide enough for him to slip through. Sonic quickly walked over and looked out the window, but Shadow was nowhere in sight. Sonic gulped, realizing the severity of the situation.

"Shadow?" His voice filled with panic.

/

_Sorry this update took so long! I've been busy with summer school and friend drama. I have the basic shell of this story mapped out, it's just hard to find time to write it out. Enjoy!_

_-GeminiMercedes-_

**A/N UPDATE: *Reads above author's note* Yikes! I actually remember when I posted this and what "friend drama" I was referring to. Not a fun trip down memory lane, let me tell you. Anyways, this is where the story originally came to a grinding halt. While I said I had things mapped out, I never actually wrote down a storyboard - which I did this time. Hopefully things go smoothly this go around, because I think this story has a lot of potential. I wanted to add a scene where Blaze talks to Tails but it didn't really fit PLUS I feel like I exhausted that friendship in Love Potion/No Regrets. This story will be very different from those two and in hindsight, I made this story because I wanted to go in a different direction than high school soap opera (probably because I was dealing with that in real life!). Anyway, R&amp;R!**

**-GEMINIMERCEDES- **


	6. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Hi guys! **

**I'm so happy to announce that I'm continuing this story after it was left on hiatus for at least a year. If you've read one of my latest one-shots, Nightshifts, then you know I'm totally back in the Sonic universe (and you should totally check out Nightshifts if you like Sonadow!). I recently bought Sonic Unleashed so I'm sure that's helping me as well. I'm really sorry I left this story, I felt it had so much potential but I was dealing with other things in my life that messed up my creative juices. After writing out a full plot for this story, I really want to try and finish it. I hope you guys will continue on this journey with me as I rekindle my love for all things Sonic (more like Sonadow, but that's besides the point) and continue to write stories that you guys will hopefully enjoy. Thank you for all the support up until now, it means the world to me. **

**I have edited chapters one to five as well as added new author's notes and chapter titles so feel free to re-read those if you don't remember everything that has happened up until now. New chapters coming soon! I hope to see your comments and reviews as well as who you think is behind everything! The plot twists will be crazy, I promise. **

**Love you guys! **

**-GEMINIMERCEDES-**


	7. Adrenaline Overdose

**D&amp;S Chapter 6: Adrenaline Overdose **

"Blaze, he's gone!" Sonic yelled into his cell phone. Blaze, who had only just got back to work, stifled a gasp.

She immediately turned on her work computer and logged in to the citizen database.

"What's his name?"

"Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog." Sonic said softly.

"Okay, give me a second…" She muttered, putting the name in before adding information on his appearance.

Hitting enter, she leaned back as the program searched for a match. There was information on every individual in the city, include herself.

That's why she was surprised when the search turned up nothing.

"W-what?" She stammered as she stared at the "NO RESULTS" sign in red font on her screen.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked, his voice drenched in worry.

"It...It's telling me he's not in the system." She answered slowly. There was silence on the phone for a minute.

"He's _what_?"

"I'll do a second check but if that's his real name…"

"He told me himself and he didn't seem like he was lying." Sonic explained. Blaze winced as she heard the cop take a deep breathe. Sonic was usually pretty level-headed and jovial, but this situation was bringing out another side of him.

But she couldn't blame him. From birth, any citizen in the city was added to the database and their information was updated every couple of years. Even citizens coming in and out of the city were screened and added to the database. This was public knowledge as well, so every citizen knew that any misdemeanors or incidents would be reported in their files.

The only way Shadow could have avoided this was if he had snuck in the city or…

"I'm coming in, Blaze." Sonic said, a tone of finality in his voice that she'd never heard before.

"Okay, that's fine. This situation might require the help of someone with more credentials anyway." She replied as she did a second search just to be sure.

"No, no. I still need your help, but I have to speak to Estro about some things." He explained.

"Well, I'll see you soon then." Blaze said with a sigh, her second search coming to the same conclusion.

"Thanks for all your help Blaze." Sonic replied before she heard the dial tone.

Hanging up the phone, Blaze stared at the screen and raised an eyebrow. She turned to the piles of paper she would have to go through before the week was over and shook her head. While she had no idea what Sonic had gotten himself into, there was nothing she could do about it now.

"Good luck, Sonic." She muttered as she went to the backroom to get a coffee. One thought that she'd chosen not to voice continued to etch in the back of her mind.

There was really only one way Shadow could have avoided being added to the database at birth.

She shook her head, knowing that what that thought implied opened a whole new barrel of questions that she didn't have answers for.

She _really_ needed that coffee.

/

"I'm so worried about him." Rouge groaned as she wiped the bar counter. Her new bouncer, Knuckles, simply scoffed and crossed his arms.

"You said that ten times today."

"Yeah, because I am!" She retorted, glaring at him while she continued to clean.

"So why don't you call him? Or go to his place? Taking it out on me won't find him." Knuckles spat back. Had Rouge not been in such desperate need of security for her bar, she would have hired someone else.

The red echidna was brash and cocky, kind of like her if she was honest with herself. He was fit too, she'd give him that. He was the only one with qualifications that would work on such short notice. His loud mouth was something she could do without but she hoped he'd make good use of it when someone needed to be escorted out of her bar.

"I can't call him because he doesn't have a phone and I've never been to his place." She explained with a sigh, too upset to go back and forth.

Shadow had been gone for a few days now and her anxiety was reaching unbearable levels. She had immediately looked into getting a bouncer so that her friend wouldn't have to play one again.

Her lack of a retort surprised her new employee, and he took a deep breath before walking closer to the bar.

"Then you'll have to wait for him to return. I'm sure he's fine." He said with a shrug. Rouge, knowing that this was his way of cheering her up, gave him a small smile.

But her nerves were still shot when someone knocked on the door a second later.

"Calm down, I'll get it." Knuckles said as the bat dove under the counter.

Peering from behind the counter, Rouge watched as the bouncer walked to the door and opened it slowly.

"We're closed right now." He stated with the door half open. Rouge inwardly cursed the fact that she couldn't see who he was talking to. But it wouldn't take more than a question for her to figure out who it was.

"Is Rouge here?" She would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Shadow!"

/

"You're going out today, Sonic?" Tails asked as he walked out of the kitchen with a sandwich. Sonic, fully dressed in his cop uniform, gave Tails a bashful smile.

"Yeah, I have to handle some things at the office. I shouldn't be too long." He explained, putting on his leather boots. A sandwich in a plastic bag was thrust into his hand.

"I made this for you. You're going because of Shadow right?" Tails said with a sad smile. Sonic sighed.

The time he'd spent off with Tails had been fun, but this issue was bigger than the both of them and he'd have to act fast if he wanted to fix it.

"Yeah, I'm going to see if I can investigate what happened to him." Sonic said softly, patting Tails awkwardly on the head. The fox turned away before grabbing the hedgehog's torso in a tight hug.

"Be careful, okay?" He muttered as he pulled away.

"I promise." Sonic replied, taking a deep breath before heading out.

/

"You know where the cot is in the back, I'll be with you shortly." Rouge said, ushering Shadow to the back room of the club. As dark as his fur was, she could tell he was pretty beat up. Feelings of guilt and anger ran through her and she felt like a terrible friend for allowing him to get hurt on her behalf.

At the very least, the hedgehog was following her instead of putting up a fuss.

"Knuckles, could you watch things for a while? We're closed but…"

"Yeah, yeah. Attend to your friend." Knuckles replied gruffy, waving them off. Rouge swallowed a retort, deciding that she would never understand the echidna before returning her attention to her injured friend.

Once they got to the back, Shadow lay down on the cot and coughed. Luckily, Rouge stored water bottles and food supplies (mostly for her on and off roommate, but she'd never tell him that) in the back and quickly grabbed her friend one.

"That's the best help you could find?" Shadow teased, accepting the water bottle and downing the liquid quickly.

"I'm so sorry, Shadow. This is all my fault." She would have continued had he not raised a hand.

"I made my decision when those idiots stormed in. It really had nothing to do with you." He stated, eyes closed. Rouge sighed, knowing he was trying to stop her from feeling guilty.

"Still, I think you should stay here until you've fully recovered. Where have you been for the last couple of days anyway?" She sat across from him on a stack of water bottles. Shadow rolled his eyes and smirked.

"You wouldn't believe it." He replied, turning to look at her. Rouge raised an eyebrow.

"Try me." She said slowly, trying to figure out where he'd been before he admitted it. Shadow coughed and rolled over on his stomach. The second he stopped moving he winced and turned back.

"Hey, don't move too much! Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" Rouge stammered, getting to her feet.

"I'm fine, this is nothing." Shadow managed to cough out. Rouge shook her head.

"Save the bravado, kid. I've been in the streets before. I know when it's time to ask for help."

"Would you drop it?" Shadow spat, holding his head and shutting his eyes tight.

"S-sorry, I'm just worried." Rouge said as she sat down again, her leg shaking as she hoisted it over the other.

"I'll be fine." He reassured, looking back at her with a blank stare. Silence fell over the two for about a minute before Rouge's curiosity got the best of her.

"So where were you?" She asked timidly, looking anywhere but at Shadow. Shadow blinked and shook his head.

"What? Oh, I was at some cop's-"

"Someone at the front needs your help." The two of them turned to see Knuckles standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Is it urgent?" Rouge asked. Knuckles shrugged and turned away.

"Seemed like it when I told them to wait." He answered, tapping his foot impatiently.

Rouge let out an exasperated sigh as she left the room. She would have to seriously consider the pros and cons of having him as a bouncer if he couldn't even turn people away.

/

Shadow relaxed into the cot and took a deep breathe. Thinking about the cop who had saved him brought a weird feeling to his chest. A feeling he'd forgotten long ago that he was sure would never find it's way back in his life.

That feeling was quickly replaced with confusion when he barely dodged a punch from a spiky white glove.

"Now it's just you and me. Let's see if you can do me like you did my friend." Knuckles growled, his fist mere inches from Shadow's face.

"What the...who are you?" Shadow muttered, adrenaline taking over his battered body. Knuckles let out a cold laugh and shook his head.

"Just a friend of that cop you messed up. You didn't think you'd get away with that scott free, did you?" He replied, raising a fist that Shadow managed to deflect with his shin.

"He didn't get a quarter of the beating he deserved." Shadow said with a smirk. Knuckles blinked before returning the smirk. Confusion quickly turned to fear as Shadow realized the situation he was in, stuck in the back of a club with a dangerous and angry echidna.

"You stupid little… " Knuckles started as he charged.

**A/N: Yikes! Looks like things are going left really fast! Tensions will be even higher in the next chapter so stay tuned! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! By the way, this is the longest chapter I've written for this story. Feels like a great restart so far! **

**-GEMINIMERCEDES-**


	8. Running On Fumes

**D&amp;S Chapter 7: Running On Fumes **

**But first, reviews!**

**Sonic The Dovahkiin****: Thank you so much! I definitely took your critique into perspective when I wrote this chapter. When I started writing D&amp;S, I meant for it to be soap opera/crime television-esque and by that I mean that scenes fade in and out to keep the suspense up. There was supposed to be less attention to detail and more "snapshots" of pivotal moments. I definitely think adding a bit of description wouldn't hurt though so I've tried to make changes. Really glad you like the plot though! I'm loving Mirror Image and really enjoyed today's update! Keep up the great work and I hope to hear more of your opinions as the story progresses.**

**lovekyDman****: Thank you! Things will be explained soon...or maybe not. You'll have to keep reading! **

**D****: ****Thank you lovely! Their relationship will take some time to flourish but I think it'll make sense when it does! I really appreciate the reviews you've sent over the years, and your support is such a blessing! Thanks again. **

**Keep reviewing guys, it always makes my day! Now on to the story...**

Shadow knew he had to get away from Knuckles, but the brute was in between him and the back exit directly across from the room they were standing in. His muscles were screaming in pain and it was hard for him not to waver slightly from the overwhelming pressure he was putting his body under.

"For your information, that cop started the whole thing." Shadow spat, trying to stall a fight until he had a plan of action. Knuckles scoffed.

"You can't just go around knocking over cops and think we aren't going to come back and find you." He replied.

Shadow blinked.

"We?" He asked slowly, not letting his guard down as he took a deep breathe.

"Yeah, _we_. How do you think I got this job with your little girlfriend? I'm a ex, but I'm not about to let you get away with what you did." The echidna said with a smirk, cracking his knuckles.

Shadow smirked.

"Ex or not, you shouldn't open your mouth if you can't back it up." He said with a smile that only enraged the creature in front of him.

Knuckles sized him up before swinging, the hedgehog's cranium his target. Shadow quickly dodged the punch and sent a kick at the echidna's torso. Knuckles blocked it with his arm and went for another punch. Shadow took the opportunity to move around his arm and flip their positions.

The ends of his lips began to twitch. Now that he was behind Knuckles, he could easily turn around and run out the back door.

But Knuckles wasn't done yet. He turned on his heel and kicked Shadow, the hedgehog barely blocking the attack as he slammed into the wall beside the doorway.

"You're not gonna get away that easily." Knuckles muttered, charging again. Shadow's knee gave way as he watched the red echidna run at him.

Thinking of possible escape scenarios, he turned to the wall he had crashed into and stared at the dent he had caused.

"Of course…" He muttered, turning back to see Knuckles right above him, his fist ready to send Shadow careening through the wall. Unfortunately for the echidna, that was _exactly_ what Shadow had hoped he would do.

"Wrong move!" Shadow growled, jumping into the air the second Knuckles' fist flew at him. Knuckles eyes widened as he realized what Shadow was doing.

Plaster and debris flew into the air as Knuckles fist crashed into the wall of the backroom. It was a thin wall, but his arm was lodged in deep enough to leave him immobile. As he tried to pull himself out, a foot emerged from the dust and struck him across the face.

"Damnit!" He yelled, feeling his lip split and his cheek start to burn. He raised his other fist to try and block his face as another kick connected with his jaw. His eyes burned from the dust but he tried swatting it away to get a visual on Shadow.

There was silence in the room as the dust began to settle and Knuckles regained his vision.

Unfortunately by then, Knuckles' target was long gone. His boss however, was standing right in front of him looking less than amused.

"What are you doing to my club?!"

/

Sonic walked into the office and flashed his badge at the secretary. He'd been gone less than a week, so things looked the same. The secretary's desk sat in the middle of the floor with the elevators on one side and a help desk on the other. It was a Tuesday afternoon, so people were usually out of the office. That meant he wouldn't have to socialize before heading up and also meant he'd get to _leave_ faster. The secretary gestured towards the elevators and Sonic nodded before pressing the up button on the closest one to her desk. Only one of elevators went to the top floor, the Commissioner's office, and that was the one he'd have to take.

As he entered the elevator, he stared at his reflection in the mirrored walls. He hoped things would go smoothly with Estro, but his boss was hard to read at times. He was a strong, burly man with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. He had climbed the ranks when Sonic had been a free agent, and it was only after he had taken the title of Commissioner that he'd asked Sonic to join the force. Sonic had been apprehensive at first, but the job did have its perks and he was able to continue helping people. He didn't really fit in with the rest of the cops who deemed him an overrated furry, but he'd always been able to tune anything negative out.

That's why it would have been nice to see Blaze when he came in, but he assumed the cat was on her lunch break.

Arriving at the top floor, Sonic walked down the long white hallway that ended at another secretary desk. He stared out the large window beside the desk that gave a breathtaking view of the city before turning to Estro's secretary.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sonic, but Commissioner Estro is in the middle of a very important phone call. I'm going to have to ask you to wait here." She explained. Sonic raised an eyebrow. He didn't remember the secretary's name, but he recognized her voice as the one that had booked the time with Estro.

"Okay, that's fine." He said slowly, walking over to the window to look at the city.

In the past, Estro would clear his schedule for Sonic, knowing that the hedgehog only bothered him if it was something important. Unless the call was about national security, Sonic doubted it was serious enough to keep him waiting.

On the other hand, the privilege to call the Commissioner at the drop of a dime and ask for a meeting was shared by few, if any, other than Sonic. Remembering that, the hedgehog took a deep breath and sighed. It wasn't going to kill him to wait, even though it did seem odd.

As he stared down at the busy streets, he noticed the news station building had added a large screen above its logo. Sonic rolled his eyes. He was sure Amy would love the fact that even pedestrians and drivers would be forced to see her as they made their commutes. It was reporter Cream though, who's face flashed on the screen, as the camera panned to a festival she was reporting on.

Turning away, Sonic's eye barely caught a black line shooting down the street in front of the office. His heart skipped a beat.

"Is that…" He muttered.

"Commissioner Estro will see you now, Mr. Sonic." The secretary said, gesturing him towards the door behind her.

"T-thanks." He stammered, struggling to turn away from what he had just seen.

/

Blaze smiled as she found an empty park bench to sit on. Dropping her cardigan and lunch box on the blue iron seat, she stretched and took a deep breathe.

Speaking to Sonic and seeing a hedgehog with almost life threatening wounds had troubled her. She wasn't the type to show it, especially in front of her colleagues, but Blaze was beginning to worry. While Sonic hadn't told her who he considered a criminal in the hedgehog's assault, she was smart enough to come up with some possible suspects. None of which left a good taste in her mouth.

It didn't help that "Shadow" didn't come up in the city's database or that Sonic wanted to handle the matter without the police force.

Blaze sat down on the bench and opened her lunch box. She grabbed the sandwich she had prepared for herself and took a bite. She could hear children, human and anthromorph, playing tag by the swing set.

"I hope things are like that when they grow up…" She thought aloud. Chewing slowly, she thought about where she stood in all of it.

She obviously wanted to help Sonic, as he was trustworthy and one of the few members of the force she actually spoke to. But would she lose her job? As a female anthromorph, she had grappled with a lot of oppression and sexism to make it into the boys club. And even after all of that, she was still stuck in office duty. It was a high-level office position since she worked with classified information, but she was in an office nonetheless. And because of it, she was usually excluded from meetings and events involving field work. That irritated her more than she let on.

At times she would tell herself that she wasn't ready for work in the field. That she worked better in an office setting and putting her life, and the lives of others, in danger wasn't what she was meant to do. But then she would see Sonic and wonder what it would be like to be in his shoes. She didn't see herself carrying the celebrity status he did, but she did see herself fighting crime and helping people.

Sighing, she grabbed a water bottle from her lunch box and took a sip. At the very least, she was slightly less on edge than she'd been at work. She looked at the busy street behind the park solemnly. People were either cycling or skating up and down the street in the warm weather.

Her eyes suddenly focussed on a black blur that sped down the street and out of view, scaring a few pedestrians and alarming a small dog. Red streaks coloured the black line that was left in the aftermath. A picture of Shadow immediately clicked in her mind and she got up from her seat, almost dropping the contents of her lunch box.

There was only one hedgehog she knew that could run that fast.

"It looks like things are as bad as I thought…" She whispered, squeezing her lunch box tighter than she'd meant to. Looking down, she noticed her grip had melted some of the plastic on the box.

Cursing silently, she began to pack her lunch away when she suddenly felt eyes on her. Scanning the park and its visitors, she didn't see anyone looking in her direction. Shaking her head, she grabbed her cardigan and turned to walk back to work.

The unsettling feeling returned before she could even take a step and instinct pushed her to look behind the bench she'd felt so comfortable in moments ago.

In the gathering of trees behind her stood a figure in a dark hoodie looking in her direction. Blaze's eyes widened. The person was about her height, but that was all she could decipher before she turned on her heel and began speed walking towards the street. She could tell a bad situation when she was in one, and her instincts were telling her to run.

Things went from bad to worse when she heard footsteps behind her.

She was being followed.

**A/N: A lot of things happening in this chapter but not a lot of dialogue...I'll try to make up for that in the next chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm still working on storyline kinks plus I want to add some SilverXBlaze (it will be super discreet though) in the following chapters. Anyways, R&amp;R! **

**-GeminiMercedes-**


	9. Impatience & Stations

Yay, new chapter! But first, reviews…

lovekyman: You'll have to wait and see ;) and yes, I hope she does too! Thank you! I'll glad you're enjoying it!

Sonic The Dovahkiin: I'm glad that's cleared up and I didn't take it too hard :)! I took it as constructive and it definitely helped me so thank you again! Hope you continue to enjoy the story!

lena82294: You'll have to stay tuned! Thank you for the love, glad you're enjoying it!

D&amp;S Chapter 8: Impatience &amp; Stations

Sonic had always been an impatient hedgehog. Even if he'd never been blessed with super speed, he was sure he would've still had his on-the-go attitude. He liked things to be fast-paced, _most_ things anyway. It worked well since friendships and adventures were never too far away and had the tendency to change at the drop of a dime. That didn't realy bother him, as the void they left was usually filled within a day or two. The police job helped keep things that way even when he started to settle down. He would never stop chasing the next chance at exhilaration, but he found himself thinking about having a family or at least a significant other more than before. But even then, he was sure his impatient attitude would find its way into every aspect of his life.

So when Estro gave him the news that he'd be stuck on office duty for a month, he was surprised his impatience hadn't caused him to hightail it out of there.

He'd only just got in the Commissioner's office when he was given the news. The man hadn't even offered him a seat or a glass of water.

"W-what?!" He had asked incredulously.

"Crime has been low in the city and there is a bigger need for criminal file organization and city cleanup workers." Commissioner Estro explained, resting his chin on his closed fists.

"I actually thought you'd be more interested in working with Blaze on this, you two seem close…" Estro continued. Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"What are you getting at?" The hedgehog replied, crossing his arms. Estro smiled at him and gestured towards the two chairs in front of his desk. Sonic remained standing.

"Nothing at all, you just seem to be friends with her. I thought it would be a good assignment for you." He said softly. Sonic tried to keep a pokerface, but his newly discovered patience was running out.

"I understand that, but I've always worked in the field. I've _excelled_ at that. I had a perfect performance report last year. No need to fix something that isn't broken." Sonic replied through clenched teeth.

Estro chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't think of it like that, Sonic. Think of it as more of a temporary adjustment. I have always commended you for your talents in the field, but there isn't a demand for that right now."

Sonic opened his mouth to retort when Estro leaned in and smiled.

"Plus, we wouldn't want you sitting at home letting those thoughts of yours fester too long, would we?." He said quietly. The hedgehog's eyes widened in response.

He was about to ask Estro what he meant by that but the Commissioner waved him off before he had a chance to reply.

"You're new assignment starts tomorrow, Blaze will show you the ropes." Estro explained, pressing a button on his chair arm that opened the door Sonic had walked in.

Sonic stifled a growled as he turned on his heel and walked out. This had been exactly why he'd had trepidations about working for the force. He hated someone thinking they had control over him.

The secretary greeted him when he walked out but he struggled to give her a fake smile. Looking out the large window beside her desk reminded him of the black line he'd seen racing through the streets.

"I hope you're okay." He muttered, his teeth still clenched from his conversation with Estro.

But as he walked down the blank hallway to the elevator, his mood began to change. No one had ever succeeded in controlling Sonic the Hedgehog before, and he didn't plan on letting anyone start now. He was going to help Shadow regardless of what the force said.

"I _know _you're gonna be okay," He growled, closing his fists as he entered the elevator. "Because _I'm_ going to make sure of it."

Staring at his face in the mirrored walls, he gave his signature grin and winked at his reflection.

"Let's see them try to stop me."

Little did he know, someone was watching him as he spoke.

"_I knew you would say that." _They said with a smirk.

"_But of course I planned for that…" _

/

Tails sighed as he continued to tinker with the television he'd bought Sonic a few years ago for his birthday. While watching one of his favourite afternoon cartoons, the box had shut down and refused to restart.

At first it seemed like a minor malfunction, something newer models were prone to after a few years. But a weird red line had flashed over the screen a few times as Tails had tried to fix it. And _that_ wasn't something the manual had mentioned.

Tails had raced over to his supply garage and grabbed his frequency detector, a gadget he'd invented that picked up on strange and irregular frequencies in electronics. He'd created it when Sonic's long time rival, Eggman, had hacked their radio in order to stalk their movements. While he hadn't used it in some time, he was sure it would help him figure out what had happened to the television.

He had waited a bit before trying it out, deciding to give the television company one more call before taking matters into his own hands.

"Um...hello?" He said slowly after being on hold for ten minutes.

"This is Kiro Electronics, how can we make your day better?" Tails rolled his eyes.

_You can start by not selling televisions designed to malfunction after a couple of years. _

"Well my television stopped working and I was hoping…"

"Have you tried turning it on and off?"

"..."

Very few times had Tails felt like cursing in anger. He'd seen Sonic do it a handful of times before apologizing, but he'd never felt inclined to do it himself. It had been hard to just hang up instead of giving the Kiro employee a piece of his mind. And it took a few deep breathes and some calming camomile tea before he was able to fully refocus his efforts on the television.

Leaving his cup on a coaster on the coffee table, the fox picked up his invention and pointed it at the television. He stared down at the large red button that said _GO!_ on it, an accent Sonic had pushed for, obviously. Above the button was a display screen with a dial that went back and forth like a metronome. If there were any impairing frequencies affecting the television, the dial would swing to the right.

Taking a deep breathe, Tails' thumb pushed down on the red button and watched the gadget come to life.

The dial flickered at first and remained in the middle which was "normal" for most electronic devices. Tails had been ready to give up had the dial not suddenly shot to the right and began beeping. Looking down at the flashing screen, his eyes widened.

The dial was all the way to the right and seemed to be trying to push through the barrier he had set for "MAX" on the display.

"What the…" Tails thought aloud. Even when the machine had detected Eggman's frequencies, they had never exceeded the "MAX" level limit. Tails flipped the gadget in his hand, searching for the volume setting he was sure he had added when there was a hard knock at the door.

Jumping a foot and dropping the frequency detector, Tails turned towards the door. His heart was beating fast and it didn't help that Sonic was downtown and wouldn't be back for a while. Taking a deep breathe, he realized he would have to handle the situation himself. He wasn't a kid anymore and he tried to tell himself that he'd be able to defend himself if he needed to.

"One sec, I just have to…" He turned back to the detector and almost jumped again.

The detector had landed face-up but was pointing towards the radio, its dial still at "MAX". Tails' eyes widened. That meant that multiple objects in the house were being tampered with to an astounding degree. That meant someone or something could have been listening to their conversations for a while.

"T-tails, are you in there?" He heard a weak voice yell out after another knock. With his mind still reeling from the detector's readings, Tails walked over the door and opened it. In front of him stood none other than Shadow, hunched over and breathing heavily. Tails gasped and quickly moved to grab the hedgehog, who looked like he was about to faint.

"Shadow! Where have you been?" He asked as he helped the hedgehog into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry for being such a burden." The hedgehog muttered as he allowed Tails to help him into a seat.

"Not at all, Sonic should be here soon." Tails replied, rushing over to the kitchen to grab Shadow a glass of water.

"I won't be here long, I just wanted to fill him in on one of his cop friends who should really be written up." Shadow spat out.

Tails handed him the water and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" He asked slowly. Shadow shook his head.

"The world is an ugly place, kid." Was all he said before turning away from Tails and staring out the kitchen window.

The detector continued beeping in the background.

/

Not only was the hooded figure following her, but they seemed to know where she was going too.

Blaze growled as she crossed a busy street in an attempt to hide amongst the crowd only to see her stalker in hot pursuit. They weren't giving up and she was running out of time. He car was parked across the street from police HQ but she had tried multiple times to change her path in order to confuse her follower. She was almost to the building now and wasn't sure she'd be able to keep a good distance from the figure.

She had just crossed the last intersection before the police HQ when her phone began to buzz. A number came up as "UNKNOWN" but she picked it up anyway.

"Hello?" She was practically out of breathe, but keeping away from a stalker while trying to speed walk and appear normal to the other pedestrians was proving to be quite an exercise.

"Hey," Her breath hitched when she realized the voice was being distorted by a machine. "I know you're being followed but I know how you can get away."

Blaze's heart skipped a beat. So _two_ people were watching her? When she had considered doing field work, this was definitely not what she'd expected to be involved in. She tried to keep her cool as she continued speed walking down the street.

"W-what? How can I trust you?" She hissed, slowing her walk to catch her breath.

"You don't have to, but I can tell you that person is going to follow you to your car." The caller explained. Blaze watched from the corner of her eye as the figure continued to follow her through the crowd.

"What should I do then? And that's _if _I were to trust you and your altered voice." She replied quietly. The anxiety and fear was starting to drive her crazy and having to take advice from a stranger over the phone wasn't helping. But her situation was getting worse as she came closer to HQ and she was going to need any help she could get.

She heard the voice chuckle.

"I would rather you hear my real voice, trust me. Just know that I am on your side. I want to get you out of there and if I knew you'd trust me, I'd tell you to go to Central Station."

Blaze almost came to a complete stop when she heard that. But of course she couldn't.

"W-what? Why there?" She turned her head in the direction of Central Station before looking towards HQ.

"They won't understand why you're going there and they'll be too suspicious looking to fit in with everyone else." The caller explained.

Blaze was silent for a second as she considered her options and the validity of her caller's claim. On one hand, if she made it back in time, she could request backup at HQ. But that could make matters ten times worse if the stalker was hoping she would do that. Central Station was busy but had ample security. If her stalker were to catch her, at least she could scream for help. She was less likely to get help in a quiet parking lot.

"You'll have to turn now though." The caller said, pulling her from her thoughts.

"F-fine!" Blaze whispered, turning at the next street to head towards the station. To her surprise, the stalker seemed to freeze and then slow down. By the time she got to the station, they were no where in sight.

"I can't believe that worked…" She muttered. The caller, who had been silent as she'd changed routes, began speaking again.

"You're not out of the woods yet. I'd hang in the station a couple of minutes before heading back. Be careful, alright?" They explained. Blaze stared at her phone like it had grown legs.

"Um, thank you. Whoever you are." She said softly, feeling stupid as she finished.

"No problem. You'll meet me soon, I'm sure." The caller replied with a chuckle before the line went dead.

Blaze stood still for a second before putting her phone away and heading into the station. She couldn't believe she'd just trusted a complete stranger with her safety. But at least she was safe now, relatively at least.

Shaking her head as she took a seat in the station's food court, she pulled out her phone and called the front desk at police HQ. She had no plans to return to work that afternoon. On the contrary, she was more worried about going back to work.

She was going to investigate what was going on around her.

She was going to conduct her _own_ field work.

...and she was going to need Sonic's help.

/

A/N: As promised, I tried to add more dialogue in this chapter. Next chapter will probably have a lot more because there's been a lot of action in the last few chapters. There will hopefully be some shipping progression as well ^.^ so look out for that! I really hope you guys are liking the different storylines! Blaze's "encounter" was supposed to be a little different but I found my alternate version a bit confusing so I stuck with this one. Also, I know little to nothing about frequencies but again wanted it to be simple enough to understand yet complex enough that Tails needed to pull out the big guns. In the greater scheme of things, I hope it makes sense. Anyways, enjoy and please r&amp;r!

-GeminiMercedes-


	10. Pay Attention to the Interventions!

**Yay, a new update! But first...reviews!**

**lovekyman****: Thank you for the lovely review! Things will definitely start to unravel moving forward. I'm going to slowly let down the veil of mystery as the chapters continue. There is a whole lot going on but I hope it makes more sense when everything comes to a head. **

**lena82294****: Thank you for the review! He's definitely suspicious! And thank you! I really take time to think up something clever for each one. **

**D&amp;S Chapter 9: Pay Attention to the Intervention**

Sonic felt heavy as he ran back to his apartment. The journey wasn't the problem though. After years of being a police officer, he knew every side alley and hidden street. It made it easier to keep his whereabouts a secret, and he didn't have to worry about bumping into anyone or causing a scene in the middle of the city.

It also gave him time to think. He had always known getting a real job would put a strain on his freedom to use his abilities. To some extent, he would have to be "policed", no pun intended. But he had never thought he'd be forced away from using his abilities to help people. If anything, that was what he lived for. Having that taken away not only left a bad taste in his mouth, but a side-eye at the force he had committed himself to. Had he made a mistake joining? The job put food on the table, but should he have worked alone instead?

Shaking his head to refocus his thoughts, he shot through the last alley leading up to his apartment. It was still the middle of the day, so the lobby and elevator were clear when he arrived. With a sigh of relief, he pressed the button on the wall between the elevators and took a step back. He could hear the buzz of the elevator making its way down and he tapped his foot impatiently as he waited.

It was at that moment that something dawned on him.

_How had Shadow found his way to the front of their apartment? _

There was no way he could have used the front entrance of the complex, you needed a key card or a number to call. He couldn't have climbed up being as he was injured and they were on the fourth floor. Someone would have had to bring him in or **bring him up**…

A loud beep brought Sonic back to reality. The elevator had finally returned to the lobby and was now open in front of him. Walking in quickly, he pressed the button for the fourth floor and waited for the doors to close. As he stepped instead, he placed his index fingers against his temples and tried to message the stress away.

He needed a cold shower and some sleep, thinking about anything else at this point was counterproductive. He wouldn't be able to do anything until he came up with a plan of action, which he hated doing.

But with all the obstacles in his way, he'd have to plan his next move out.

The elevator beeped again as he reached the fourth floor. He was almost tempted to press the OPEN button if the doors had opened any slower. Stepping out, he sighed and took a deep breathe. He didn't want Tails to see him so down. He had to be strong for him at least. The fox would probably be able to help him while he was stuck at work, but he didn't want Tails to worry too much.

Putting on his best faux grin, he turned to walk down the hallway towards his room when he saw a familiar face standing in front of his door.

"Blaze?"

/

In his first few weeks at the news station, Silver had seen quite a few things.

He had, however, never seen Cream pissed off.

_Irritated_? Maybe. _Pissed off_? Never.

The rabbit slammed the door to the meeting room shut as Amy stepped in. The shocked look Amy gave her did nothing to the glare she was being given as she was gestured to a seat. Silver took a sip of the coffee he'd grabbed from the kitchen and shifted in his seat. He highly doubted this meeting would go well.

Cream had sent both him and Amy an invite email to a meeting she was hosting after lunch. The pink hedgehog hadn't been in the entire morning but Silver wasn't surprised to see her sulking in at around 12:40. She had been missing shifts due to the filming of her reality show, but that was only supposed to take up a couple hours a week. The pink hedgehog had been missing her main broadcast times every other day and her fellow hosts were being forced to take over her segments. To make matters worse, the network wasn't paying them for all their extra work and while Silver never mentioned it, the work was beginning to feel exhausting. He still wasn't comfortable handling segments that required his opinion or improvisation and he knew Cream was getting annoyed with having to conduct field interviews as well as inter office segments.

"What's this about?" Amy asked as she sat down, shifting her headband lower so that her bangs hung just over her eyes. As she did that, something fell out of her hair. Silver opened his mouth to comment but thought better of it.

"You know _exactly_ what this is about." Cream spat as she took a seat beside Silver across from Amy.

When Amy shrugged, Silver put his coffee cup on the table and leaned forward. Better to take control of the fire before it got out of control.

"Listen Amy, we understand that you've been busy," He shot Cream a look, but the rabbit was still glaring at the pink hedgehog. "But it really isn't fair for you to leave the segments you're supposed to do without letting us know. We come into work not knowing what we'll have to do and what we won't." He explained. Amy opened her mouth to respond but he raised a hand to silence her.

"We get that you have a reality show or whatever, but you could at least let us know why you're never at work and if you're coming in regularly soon. If you're not, you're going to have to speak to the network." He finished with a serious stare. Amy blinked and rested her head in her hands.

"Oh really?" She said slowly, dragging out the "really". Cream slapped a gloved hand down on the table.

"Y-yes, really! How can you just leave the work to us without even n-notifying us? We're doubling up for the same pay!" She stammered, clearly upset with how the conversation was going. Amy looked far from apologetic and if she seemed shocked at Cream's confession, she didn't show it.

"Oh _please_! Same pay? Who do you think keeps the lights on in here? _Amy Rose: Taking Over_ is going to be a huge hit, which will mean a huge boost in subscribers to this news channel. Once I'm done filming, I'll be back full time so both of you need to watch it." The pink hedgehog retorted, pointing at Silver and Cream accusingly.

"Your filming should only mean a missed segment here and there. You're _never_ here, Amy. Don't try to lie either because we saw your filming schedule." Silver said calmly. Amy's eyes widened and then tightened with rage. What Cream said next didn't make things any better.

"A-and we know Mr. Sonic won't go out with you so it's not like you have a _real_ reason to be missing!" The rabbit added, pointing back at Amy. Amy's jaw dropped.

"H-how dare you two! You both should be thankful you get to sit in front of the cameras for as long as you do! I'm a veteran in this and if I want to focus on other ventures, I _can_!" The hedgehog shot back. Silver opened his mouth to retort but Amy shook her head and tightened her fists.

"When I feel like coming back, I will. Until then, you both will just have to deal because the network is _not_ going to fire me." She finished with a smirk. Before Silver or Cream could respond, she jumped out of her seat and walked out of the room. The metal chair fell to the floor in a fashion almost as dramatic as her exit.

Silver covered his eyes with his hand as he sat back and sighed. Cream got up and went to pick up the chair Amy had been sitting in.

"We have to do something! I have a chao at home and my mom doesn't like me coming home as late as I do now." The rabbit said. Silver turned to her and smiled.

"I can take more of those night segments, Cream." He responded. Cream shook her head.

"No way, we have to do something about this. I don't care if she's the network's gold mine, she can't just leave everything to us." The rabbit replied, heading for the door.

"By the way…" She continued, turning back to Silver.

"Why was her hoodie covered in leaves?"

/

"I've decided," Blaze started as Sonic searched his pockets for his key. "I'm going to help you. I'm too limited in my current position, I want to be out there with you."

Sonic turned to her and widened his eyes. While he was sure she would be a valuable ally, it was definitely not something he had expected to hear from someone he had seen as an office clerk for so long.

"Gee, I appreciate the offer Blaze but what's got you pumped? I don't think I've ever seen this side of you before." He said, patting his pockets as he looked at her. He brushed his shoes against the ground until he felt something under his foot.

"Aha! There it is." He said with a smile, reaching down to pull his key out of his shoe.

"You leave your key in your shoes?" Blaze asked, crossing her arms as he stood up. Sonic smiled bashfully.

"Yeah, I don't lose them that way. But anyways, why the change of heart?" He asked as he unlocked the door and gestured for her to walk in first.

"Well, I was taking my lunch break and…"

"Sonic!" A voice from inside yelled. Sonic and Blaze turned to see Tails standing a few feet away from the door, Shadow not too far behind him. Sonic froze and almost dropped his key.

"Looks like you'll be having lots of company this afternoon." Blaze mused as she stepped inside.

"Yay! I'll put the kettle on." Tails said with a smile as he rushed off to the kitchen. Sonic barely nodded as he walked in, his eyes never leaving Shadow's.

The hedgehog didn't look much better than the last time he'd seen him. His bandages were gone and his bruises had faded, but Shadow didn't look like one hundred percent health just yet. There were dark bags under his eyes and even though he was sitting, the hedgehog seemed on edge.

"Shadow…" Sonic said slowly, taking a seat across from him on the couch. He felt the couch dip beside him and only attributed it to Blaze taking a seat after he took his focus off the hedgehog in front of him.

Shadow looked away and sighed.

"I had my reasons to leave. I'm not here to speak on that." He huffed, staring at the wall as he spoke.

If Sonic had expected the conversation to go left at some point, but he hadn't expected it to go there that quickly.

"_Are you serious_?!" He erupted, resisting the urge to get up off the couch into Shadow's face.

"Look, Sonic…" Shadow muttered, turning back to stare down the officer.

"I-I was worried about you! You could have told me you were _leaving_!"

"Sonic…" Blaze said, putting on a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't own me, _officer_. I don't have to tell you anything." Shadow shot back, but even Sonic could tell it was a half-assed attempt at a retort.

"You don't _have_ to tell me anything, but it would've been a courtesy to someone who cares about you!" Sonic replied. A silence fell over the room, everyone stunned by Sonic's admission.

But the blue hedgehog had meant it. He didn't know Shadow well, but he wanted to help. He was starting to see how defensive and scared the hedgehog was when it came to opening up, but that wasn't going to stop him. He didn't care if nobody else cared about Shadow's well-being, he was going to care.

Shadow wasn't even looking at him at this point, and he was sure Blaze was feeling just as uncomfortable. As if timing couldn't have been more perfect that day, Tails walked in with a tray of tea and cookies.

"Hope you guys are getting along, I couldn't hear anything over the kettle. Dig in!" The blonde fox said as he placed the tray on the coffee table in between them. "Oh and Sonic, Shadow has something he wanted to tell you." He finished, taking a seat on the seat beside Shadow.

"Y-you do?" Sonic said, looking back in the direction of the midnight hedgehog.

"Y-yeah, it's something I thought you'd want to hear." Shadow replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Tails looked between the two of them before turning to Blaze with a raised eyebrow.

"Did I miss something?" He asked. Blaze shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. Shadow, please continue." She replied, gesturing to the dark hedgehog.

Shadow turned to her and huffed.

"She's on our side, Shadow." Sonic said. Shadow eyes met his and for a moment it looked like another argument was going to break out. Sonic felt his fists tighten as the myriad of emotions he was feeling felt like they were inside a pressure cooker. Luckily, Shadow looked away a second later and sighed.

"Fine. Do you know of an officer named Knuckles?" He asked. Sonic blinked.

_What does Knuckles have to do with this? _He thought to himself. He opened his mouth to respond, but Blaze was already speaking.

"He _was_ an officer a few levels lower than Sonic. He was dismissed for…"

"Being an ass who liked to use his fists to get what he wanted." Sonic finished. Blaze sighed and shook her head.

"Basically." She said. Shadow nodded.

"He's working for a friend of mine who owns an establishment in the heart of the city. He attacked when I went to check on her." He explained.

"He _what_?" Sonic asked angrily.

"Why would he attack _you_? Knuckles was known to be volatile, but he always had a reason. Even if the reason didn't justify the means." Blaze added. Shadow gritted his teeth.

"He attacked me because…" He grabbed his head and groaned.

"H-hey, don't push it." Tails said, placing a wavering hand on Shadow's shoulder. Sonic felt his heart drop. Shadow was far from fully healed and he wished he had been more vigilant in keeping him safe.

"I-I'm fine." The midnight hedgehog replied, removing Tail's hand and taking a deep breath.

"Are you sure-" Sonic started.

"Let's not push him Sonic," Blaze interrupted, turning to the blue hedgehog. "It might be due to what he's been through.

Sonic nodded and turned back to Shadow.

"Don't push yourself. When you're ready, you can tell us what happened." Sonic said with an understanding smile. Shadow didn't meet his stare, but he knew the midnight hedgehog heard what he said.

Sonic took a deep breath and turned to Blaze.

"Now, wasn't there something _you_ wanted to tell me?" He asked. Blaze put down the cup she had been sipping from and turned to him.

"I was followed today, stalked if you may." She stated. Sonic's eyes widened.

"You'll have to start caring for a lot of people now, officer." Shadow said with a smirk.

_**Yikes! Hope you guys enjoyed this revealing chapter! I wanted to apologize for this update taking as long as it did. My personal life hasn't been great as of late and while I already knew how this chapter was going to go, I just didn't have the heart to write it. I'm back now (sorta, kinda) and I hope the updates are faster. I start school soon and I'm working so I'm not sure how fast updates will go then but I will try my best to finish this story! The feedback has been great since I started updating again and I'm sure it will continue to grow. Thank you for all the love and support thus far! It's really kept me going! I hope you guys catch the hints I've placed in this chapter. Since updates won't be as often anymore, I'll try to do flashbacks or explanations for things that have happened in previous chapters. That way you won't have to go back and forth BUT I still recommend you do if you find yourself confused. **_

_**-GeminiMercedes-**_


	11. Meddling and Back peddling

New Update (finally)! But first…

jessicashadow: Oooooh do you? :P It'll be a little while till it's exposed but it'll definitely be worth the wait! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it!

D&amp;S Chapter 10: Meddling and Back pedaling

"_Now, wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?" Sonic asked. Blaze put down the cup she had been sipping from and turned to him. _

"_I was followed today, stalked if you may." She stated. Sonic's eyes widened. _

"_You'll have to start caring for a lot of people now, officer." Shadow said with a smirk._

"Are you serious?" Tails asked, a gloved hand covering his open mouth. Blaze nodded.

"I noticed them when I was sitting in the park eating lunch. That's _also_ when I saw Shadow speeding by." Blaze replied. Shadow huffed at his name being called, but if that bothered the cat, she didn't show it.

"I'm not saying the two events are related," She continued "but that's what _my_ afternoon consisted of."

Sonic felt his fingers tighten around the cup he was holding.

"How did you get away?" He asked softly, his words almost catching in his throat. Blaze closed her eyes and took a deep breathe.

"I doubt even _you _would believe me, Sonic." She replied. Sonic tilted his head to the side, clearly confused.

"What do you mean?" He heard Tails ask.

"Yeah." Shadow egged on. Sonic almost smirked hearing the moody hedgehog try to act as if he wasn't interested in the purple cat's story.

"I got this...call." She started, putting a finger to her lip.

"From who?" Sonic asked instinctively. Blaze shook her head.

"I have no idea, the voice was distorted." She replied. When no one said anything, she continued.

"I couldn't tell who it was, but they told me not to return to the office. They told me the stalker wouldn't follow me if I went to Central Station. I didn't want to listen, but I didn't really have a choice. I couldn't risk the stalker getting past security at the office." She explained.

"This is like a movie…" Tails muttered.

"Or a weird fanfic…" Shadow added. Blaze glared at him before clearing her throat to continue. Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic could see Shadow rolling his eyes.

"Regardless, the stranger's advice worked. They didn't follow me once I got to the station, and they weren't there when I left either." Blaze finished, picking up her cup to take another sip.

"I'm so sorry, Blaze." Sonic said, still processing the story. "I'm going to get to the bottom of what's going on." Blaze shook her head.

"I'm almost glad I went through that, actually. It made me want to get into field work even more, that's why I want to help you." The cat replied, her golden eyes locked in an intense gaze with Sonic's. The blue hedgehog took a deep breath and smiled at her.

"I don't think I could say no, even if I wanted to. But this is dangerous work, Blaze. I know you're more than aware of that, but I have to make sure…"

"I am." Blaze replied, smiling softly.

"Does that mean we get to help too?" Tails asked enthusiastically.

"_We_?" Shadow asked, turning to the yellow fox with an incredulous expression on his face. Sonic laughed.

"Shadow's a little too wrapped up in this not to help, if you ask me." He replied, ignoring the stare he was sure he was getting from the black hedgehog.

/

"What did you do to my wall?!" Rouge screamed as Knuckles got up from the ground. Brushing the dirt and debris off his shoulders, the red echidna shrugged and shook his head at the enraged bat.

"Nothing I can't fix…" He muttered, sounding unsure as Rouge surveyed the damage.

"You _better_ be able to, because this is coming out of your pay. What were you thinking?!" She retorted, turning back to him with a glare that had added creases to her makeup.

Knuckles was quiet for about a minute, which ended up being a minute too long for Rouge. Throwing her hands up, she headed back to the front of the bar. Knuckles followed after her, unsure if she was going to kick him out.

"Look, Rouge…"

"And where is Shadow? He was supposed to be sleeping…" Knuckles didn't respond to that, and in that moment, the alabaster bat was able to put two and two together. She spun on her heel and walked over to him. It was only when they were nose to nose that she spoke.

"What were you two doing? Did you _hurt_ him?" She growled, her fists balled up and her ruby red lips slightly pushed out.

"L-look, we have history!" Knuckles stammered. "Well, in a sense...A-and things got out of control, I can admit that." He stuttered, looking everywhere but at her. In his desperate need to look away, he failed to notice her walk into his personal space. Their noses were almost touching when he finally met her gaze.

She was angry, but there was disappointment in her eyes and that bothered him a lot more than the anger.

"Whatever history you had..." She hissed. "...doesn't justify you attacking someone whose defenseless! Did you see the condition he was in or did you just act like an uncaged animal?"

"I-I…"

"Oh, so now you don't have anything to say? Or do you only know how to talk with your fists?"

He wanted to tell her she was wrong, that he wasn't that guy. But Knuckles knew the bat wasn't too far from the truth, and that was starting to make his stomach churn.

"Rouge…"

"Get out." She'd turned around now, a hand on her hip as she stared at the bar mirror.

"What?"

"You heard me." She muttered, refusing to look at him. He clenched his own fists now, frustrated with the turn the conversation had taken. If anything, this was that stupid hedgehog's fault. Now he was out of a job.

"Fine. But you know where to find me if you need me." He growled as he walked towards the door. He wanted to leave that chance open with the bat. He was brass, but even he knew when he came across a good thing. He didn't want to let this job or this new found friendship end so quickly.

But if Rouge shared the same sentiment, she didn't show it. She didn't even flinch as he walked out. He was sure she heard the string of curses he let out as he shut the door but he didn't care, he was mad.

Mad at himself and mad at the situation.

/

"So, Sonic." Blaze started, waiting for the police hedgehog to quit teasing Shadow.

"Yeah, Blaze?" Sonic replied with a cheeky grin, barely dodging the pillow Shadow threw a second later.

"I was _kidding_!"

"I asked you to stop."

"You asked me to shut up. There's a difference."

"..."

Blaze expected Shadow to jump across the couch after that, but the black hedgehog seemed to relax and shrug instead.

"Uh, oh. What are you planning?" Sonic muttered, squinting at the midnight hedgehog sitting across from him.

"I guess you'll never know until I act on it." Shadow replied with an air of finality. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms, which only seemed to annoy Sonic more. The police hedgehog leaned forward and tilted his head to the side.

"I wish you would-" He started. Blaze watched his lips twitch and rolled her eyes. Enough was enough.

"Okay, _Sonic_? I think we need to come up with a plan of action. Sitting here isn't going to fix our problem." She said with a firm grip on the blue hedgehog's shoulder. The hedgehog blinked and turned to her with a concerned expression on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Blaze. This is serious and you're right, we need a plan." He said with a sombre smile. The violet cat nodded and turned to Shadow, who only gave a shrug in response. She felt the embers in her palms begin to reheat. It was good thing Tails stumbled out of the kitchen a second later with a plate full of cookies and a smile that seemed to dispel the uncomfortable air that had started setting in the room.

"You can't plan on an empty stomach!" He said with a smile, putting the tray on the coffee table. Everyone, including Shadow, reached for a cookie before Tails took the tray away.

"Oh and S-shadow?" The fox said timidly as he moved towards the kitchen. The fear in his voice was evident when he stuttered. Whether it was fear of dropping the second batch of cookies or speaking to the midnight hedgehog, Blaze wasn't completely sure.

"Yes?" Shadow replied softly, turning to face Tails' retreating form.

"It's definitely fear…" Blaze muttered. Sonic turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?" He asked. Blaze's cheeks turned a bright red and she shook her head quickly.

"N-nothing…"

"I-I...I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping?" Tails asked slowly.

A silence fell over the group for what seemed like the fifth time that day. Sonic seemed to pick up on this as he broke the silence first.

"Um, why?" He asked, receiving a glare from both Shadow and Tails.

"I-I just think he could use some new clothes…" Tails replied, his courage failing as he finished his sentence. Blaze crossed her arms. That was actually a good place to start. If Shadow was being followed, a change in wardrobe would definitely help him stay under the radar. Plus, the hedgehog's current attire barely covered his body the way it should have. She was sure those "ripped shorts" had been bootcut jeans at one point and she'd seen that "muscle shirt" as a hoodie in a storefront before. Shadow, realizing all eyes were on him, took the opportunity to leave the room. Walking towards the balcony door, he placed a hand on Tails' shoulder.

"I don't have any money." He muttered as he passed Tails. The fox could only sigh and watch him with a sad expression.

"That's fine, I got it." Sonic said with a smile, getting up from his place beside Blaze. The cat smiled softly, happy to recognize the hero she knew him to be. Shadow clearly didn't feel the same as he scoffed and continued to the balcony.

"I don't need a handout." He replied bluntly before opening the screen door and stepping out. Sonic smirked and followed him out.

"He'll come shopping. Trust me." he told Tails before opening the balcony door after Shadow closed it. Tails watched him walk out before taking a deep breath and leaning on the closest wall for support.

"He's a lot to deal with, but he's not as bad as Sonic." He said with a sigh. Blaze shook her head.

"I'm sure he just needs to give what you said some thought, that's all. I wouldn't take it personally." _She_ definitely would have. Shadow was rude and almost always a sentence away from being burned by her ambers. He was lucky she had a good amount of self-control. Tails seemed to agree with what she said as his smile reappeared a second later.

"Yeah, I think he's nicer than he tries to come off."

"Maybe…" Blaze replied, looking towards the balcony door. Tails walked over and took a seat on the couch across from her.

"Do you want another cookie?" He said with the smile he'd walked in with. For the first time that day, Blaze returned it and nodded.

"I'd love one."

_I'm so sorry this chapter took as long as it did. Once school and work started, there was no way I could update without taking time away from important assignments and projects. I wrote about a quarter of this chapter a while ago and just couldn't pick it back up. I didn't want to start with action right away but we will be getting to that very soon! Thank you to everyone still reading this one! I want to see it to the end, it's just taking a little longer than expected. Hope you like this chapter! If you need more "Sonic" to hold you over, check out my ONE-SHOT "Speeding Past Summer"! _

_-GeminiMercedes-_


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